Stranice

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Renting apartments, flats and other real estate property
in Belgrade has always been
relatively lucrative job and a source of additional income. Belgrade is one of
the top 10 European destinations; business, economic and academic center of
Serbia and region, lot of tourist, students, young people looking for work,
tourists, business people and other visitors are arriving every day, so there is
huge demand for accommodation capacities.
There are several hotels, a lot is being
built or plan to built, but new category
of accommodation capacity is emerging - private apartments for short stay.

Owners of empty
flats instead of holding them empty and make unnecessary costs, decide to rent
them. They are investing money to equip and to enable them for offering quality
accommodation.

The risks
and costs of the owners

The real estate market in Belgrade in recent times experience declining prices, both in sales
and in renting. On the other side utility prices and cost for maintenance have
rising. Owners cannot keep their flats empty because the cost are more and more
expensive, they have difficulty to sell - prices are too low, it is hard to
find good tenant on long run who won’t destroy apartment and be on time with
the rent. The most expensive apartment is
the empty apartment.

Therefore, in recent years many people decide to
change model of renting. The owners do
not look for tenants in the long term, rather than a flat rented as an apartment for short stay - a day, a
week or a month. This form of accommodation is becoming increasingly popular,
especially between domestic and foreign tourist and business people. They come
in Belgrade for short stay to accomplish some business or visit relatives or
business partners, visit faculty, school, to accomplish some duty in the
ministry, have medical examination, visit some cultural or sport manifestation,
etc. This sort of visitors is willing to pay for good, peaceful and comfort accommodation
in the center of Belgrade.

Convert ordinary
flats in an apartment for renting

A.First
step for owners is to make renovation and decoration and
adopted their flat to apartment for renting.

To begin with, it should be invest in equipment:

–fitted
kitchen with oven, refrigerator, small electrical appliances, dishes and cutlery,
to be able to prepare food their self

–fitted
toilets with modern and new bathtubs and showers, washing machine and clothes
drier

–buy
good furniture, beds, sofas, cabinets, etc

–buy
linens and towels,

–new
flat TV with cable or satellite channels

–computer
with fast broadband internet and Wi-Fi connection

–air
conditioning for summer

–heating
for the winter

–parking
place can be a big plus

–provide
guests with hair dryer and iron, toaster or microwave oven

B.Second
step - advertise and promotions of property in order to attract
clients. Internet, Google +, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social
networks can help. In the beginning, it may be best to contact companies that are experienced in internet marketing.

C.Third step After
each group of guests, owners should take
care of the apartment and prepare for the next group. The apartments must
be cleaned, linen be changed, the trash throw out, broken things replaced, etc.
The guest gives their grades and reviews so reputation is very important

If apartment is on a good location, the price is
unlikely to be less than 40 Euros per day. If the flat is full with guests an
average of 20 days per month, it is easy to calculate - two average Serbian
salaries. Keep in mind that Belgrade
is a city that abounds in events (concerts, spot matches, fairs), as well as in
growing number of tourists who come here during the New Year, Easter, and other
holidays. Then rates are going up, so calculation
is even more favorable.

Our advice
for real estate owners

Take advantage of your property in the best way.
Activate it, let it work for you, be with entrepreneurial spirit - may it turn
into a great business idea.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Airbnb (Air, Bed & Breakfast) is a portal or online
platform, which connects owners of some property which they want
to rent, and people who are looking place for stay. In other words, Airbnb
connects people who are searching for accommodation and people who want to rent to these strangers their spare living spaces for some amount of money.

Airbnb is not for hotels, hostels or other
commercial companies, but for private apartmentsforshort or longer stay or single rooms, houses, boats,
yachts, the offer is so wide that goes from castle to the ordinary couch. This
is a very efficient way to rent the apartments for a longer or shorter period,
both in major cities and in smaller popular seasonal destinations. Rental period
goes from one, two evenings, weekends or for several days, to a whole year.

Usually owners rent their flat when goes to trip, or
if there is a surplus of rooms but lack of money, some even bought the
apartment for renting on this service.

BEGINNINGS

The idea comes from Brian Chesky and his two friends
Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk from San Fnraciska, who sought a way to rent
their apartments when they are absent. They came to idea to create, then a
small website, - Airbnb. The beginnings were very modest, but the idea was brilliant.
Today Airbnb exists in 35,000 cities in 192 countries and has 350,000 renters
and they are now billionaires.

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

Registration on Airbnb-in is completely free and everybody
can do that. Potential client should make profile that with personal
information, as well as the photo, very similar to profile on Facebook.

Owners make their own profil that contains a textual
description and image of apartment. in the ad is integrated location on Google
Map and Google Street View. In addition there are added ratings and reviews of
those who had previously stayed on that place. This is very important because
the comment and rate are the best and most relevant information. There are
pictures of the owner, his contact details and all information related to this
flat.

The apartments can be searched by several parameters:

type of
property - apartments, rooms, houses and so on.

housekeeper
info

location

capacity
of apartments, ie how many guests can be stayed

by
date of check in and check out,

at the
range of prices,

by equipment
of object (furniture, internet, TV, etc.).

After these steps, client sends the request and when
the owner confirms the reservation, desired space is booked after potential
guest pay to Airbnb via the Internet, payment card or through PayPal. Airbnb
keeps the money until the moment when the guest appears. In this way, owner is safe
if the client cancels reservation, and customer is assured in case
accommodation is not as described. If the customer does not appear, the money
will still be removed from his account (or some percent), and the right of
return is possible only if cancellation is made on time. Service of Airbnb is 10
percent of each transaction. You can book you apartment by yourself in direct
contact with owner, but then you are at risk to lose security that Airbnb.

BENEFITS

For owners:

Economic gains. This
is good opportunity to earn some money. Instead you whirring empty
apartment or house so you can publish them and add to your budget.

Chance to introduce other people and cultures. This is a good chance to meet people from all over the world,
which you will never meet in everyday’s life. Some people like to
socialize and offer their hospitality to people from distant and unknown countries
just to introduce new experiences

For guests

Lower prices in
most cases cheaper than in classic hotels and other facilities

Better location hotels
are located in tourist areas, which are more distant from the places worth
for visiting. To introduce some place sometimes is better to be placed
somewhere closed to the locals, not tourists,

Friendships’ with the owners - this
is priceless. The hosts are "ordinary people", they usually do
not approach to visitors cold and professional, but are willing to share
with their guests local places and experiences.

flexibility of booking -
sometimes hotels are too bulky, with all these reservations, "bookings",
and all hierarchy. If you make reservation via Airbnb's you will be spare
of abusing and complications because everything can be done over internet.

DISADVANTAGES

Safety and Security.
Inconveniences are certainly possible. Each owner and guest must have their own
profile on Airbnb just for security reasons. Care is necessary on both sides, it
is recommended to read comments and ratings. Some of the guests steala or damage
belongings in apartment. Airbnb can not completely guarantee that this cannot
happen.

Untrue
description of property As with any ad, it does not take for
granted.

Competition.
Hotels and other establishments are sensitive to Airbnb, and are actively
lobbying to limit its operations.

Country
- direct transactions between private individuals involves bypassing tourist
taxes and the state does not like to be excluded from the market and to remain
free of its cakes, so that in some states passed laws to restrict Airbnb business.

AIRBNB IN
SERBIA

In Serbia, there are plenty of individuals who have
empty houses, flats and apartments that can be rented and brings some profit to
owners. Most of them are in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kopaonik, Zlatibor and other
places. Airbnb is present but not on at such a level as in others countries.
There are local portals that have been working for a long time, they have enviable reputation and they are very strong competition
which can not be easily denied.

Accommodation in Belgrade

It depends on your travel budget, but also on your way of life,
and a purpose of your trip.

Hotels offer comfort, neat, air-conditioned rooms. Cleaning
is on a daily basis, and you can count on TV, WiFi and minibar. Also, friendly
stuff with a knowledge of English and probably another foreign language.

In the other hand, you are limited on a small room, and you
have to eat in a hotel or some other restaurant.

Hostels are known as a kind of accommodation that suits best
to the young people. You can never know who will be your roommates. If you are
looking for adventure, new friendship, or traveling with a lot of friends, you
could consider hostel. But, if you are looking for a peaceful holiday to enjoy,
it would be vise to skip it.

Belgrade apartments

Apartments offer you the opportunity to plan a perfect
holiday. You will get comfort, safety and intimacy, just like in your own home.
This is a big plus if you are on a family trip.

If you are traveling by car, or planning to rent a car in Belgrade, be sure to find
apartment with parking lot.

Depending on purpose of your trip, there is a large offer of
apartments in every part of the city - center, New Belgrade, Kalemegdan,
Dorcol...

You can find an apartment that perfectly fits you. They can
be single room, or with one, two or even three bedrooms. Single room apartment
is suitable for two persons, and one-bedroom apartment for four or five people.
If you share the renting costs, and with some internet research, renting can
cost you less then 15 eur per person.

Of course, there are also some disadvantages - you have to
clean apartment and to make a bed. But, also, you can enjoy your coffee on a
balcony, prepare healthy meal from vegetables that you bought on a local green
market...

You can live just like a Belgradian for a few days, and it could be a
great experience and wonderful memory!

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Belgrade and Serbia are one of the cheapest places in the Europe to
travel and stay a while and experienced those special and unique spirit of them.

Serbia is the small Balkan
country you’ve probably never heard of, but who has lot to offer to visitors.
This is a country with beautiful mountains, spas, rivers and creeks, monasteries,
cute towns you will love to visit once you see them in pictures. Special story
is its jewel in the crown - the capital of the state -Belgrade

Beautiful Serbia

There are two main
reasons for European tourist to visit Belgrade and Serbia:

1. it’s unbelievably
beautiful and charming

2. it’s ridiculously
affordable.

We will mention
something about second reason

Accommodation

The average wage in Serbia is
around 300 Euros a month. It is obvious that the accommodation costs can’t
exceed that amount. For a decent one-bedroom apartment in center of Belgrade
you should pay as much as 220 Euros a month. Outside of the center the prices
of accommodation is even cheaper. The average monthly utilities would not
exceed 80 Euros which includes electric, heating and water. The visitors can
rent a private apartment for shorter or longer stay for just of 20 euros per person per day.

except that they are cheap these apartments are very comfortable, cozy and quiet

Belgrade at Night

Eating
Out

In Serbia you will get
for very cheap prices a lot of good food. Eating out is very affordable. Serbians
love having “burek” and other products from bakery with yogurt for breakfast,
which costs no more than 2 euro for both. Restaurants, taverns and bars are not
only a local’s favorite place for socializing but are also very easy on the
pocket.

Grill in Serbia

A nice three course meal in an inexpensive restaurant will cost you 10-15
euro. For that price you will get salad, soup, bread, main meal with lot of
meat and desert. A glass of wine is up to 2 euros, bottle of beer is 0,6 to 1,5
euro depending of place where you buy it. Of course there are very expensive fancy restaurants
but they are not for this text.

Full experience - try Serbian food

Transportation

Belgrade has several
options of transportation means to choose from. One-way tickets in public
transport usually cost around 0,8 euro. If you’re staying for a while a monthly
pass costs around 25€.

Taxis in Serbia are
also very affordable, for a 15-minute drive they will charge you no more than 8-10
Euros. To rent a car you will pay from 20 to 30 euros depending
of class of the car and length of lease.

You can even buy
vehicle – used vehicle, depending how old is, can be 1200 to 1500 euros. The
cost of running a car by European standards is fairly cheap, liter of gasoline is
around 1 €.

People in Belgrade
love to have long coffee breaks with friends. Price of coffee is 1 euro. They also
love things like visit the cinema, which costs around 3 to 5 euros, or visit
one of many theatres in Belgrade for little higher prices of 5 to 10 euros. Belgrade’s
residents know how to parting. The clubs
and bars (splavovi) are full every night
and on Fridays and Saturdays it’s almost impossible to find a seat. If you want
to experience the Belgrade’s nightlife you should budget around 10-20 euros per
night. It worth every penny, believe me.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Belgrade has many attractions and site sights which are not typically
grouped in the center of the city. In this text we can mention some of them worth
of visiting.

Belgrade
Fortress - Kalemegdan is
one of the largest preserved fortresses in Europe. Fortress was built by the
Romans, and its present appearance is characterized by excellent appearance and
preservation and fantastic views over the Sava and the Danube. In this complex
are placed several museums and restaurants, fortress is surrounded by Kalemegdan
Park, on of the largest parks in Belgrade

Pedestrian
zone in the center of the city. Near the old fortress and park Kalemegdan
is the pedestrian zone with very vivid and famous streets: Knez Mihajlova, King Milan Street, Terazije, Scadarlija with its famous tavernas, Cika Ljubina, Dorcol
district, Republic Square, with many old and famous buildings, numerous shops,
cinemas, clubs, bars, bookstores, theatres (as National Theatre) and other
interesting places.

Promenades are along Sava and Danube rivers, and are
connected over bridges. The entire right bank of the Sava River from Ada to the
confluence of the Sava and Danube continues along the Danube with a total
length of over ten kilometers. A large number of bars and nightclubs are
located on this route. At the left side of river Sava is Sava Quay, Novi
Beograd. In contrast to the right bank of the Sava River (next to the old part
of the city) where there is no interruption in pedestrian track in New Belgrade
there are two separate quay - smaller, across from Ada, and far greater, which
passes under the bridges on the Sava and is connected with the Danube quay in
Zemun. The other half is perhaps the most beautiful part of Belgrade, with a
handful of clubs and restaurants, and all along the road stretches bike path. People
walk, ride bicycles, skates etc

Park Tasmajdan is
beautifully arranged garden with lots of flowers, trees and greenery. This place
is the perfect place to relax in the very urban center and is the meeting place
for young people because several universities are at the neighborhood. Near the
park is situated St. Marko's Church, the swimming pool and plenty of bars and
shops. From Tasmajdan park starts one
of the most famous streets in Belgrade Bulevar
of King Aleksandar, extra-long boulevard with alleys of plane trees, and
small and not so small shops of all types, great pastry shops and restaurants

Zemun. Although
now an inseparable part of Belgrade, Zemun was a special place with its own
history and development. While Belgrade was under Turkish rule from the 15th
century to the early 19th century Zemun was under the Habsburgs, and have quite
central European look and architecture. Zemun is particularly known for Gardos
hill - interesting historical attraction, Lido beach, and its excellent fish
restaurants at the Danube bank.

Ada
Ciganlija. Ada is the biggest river island on Sava with artificial lake.
It is popular place especially during the hot summers when more then 100 000 residents
and tourists visits its several kilometers long beach. Also there are dozens of
cafes, bars, restaurants and sports facilities. This place is live at the night
same as at daylight.

Ada Ciganljija during summer

Belgrade
markets (or pijace on
Serbian). Belgrade markets (just to name few: Kalenic pijaca, Bajlonijeva
pijaca, Palilusla pijaca Zeleni venac,
Vidikovacka pijaca etc) are vibrant places
with special spirit. Some of them are dating back more than a
century, where producers of the organic vegetables and fruits but also other products,
from cakes to meat products, from wider and closer area of Belgrade, sell to
the residents. Who wants to experience the true spirit and everyday life of
Belgrade residents, must visit one of Belgrade s markets on Saturdays or
Sundays.

Kosutnjak. Kosutnjak
is a large forest park in the southern part of the citywith elevation of 250
meters and covers 330 hectares of evergreen and deciduous forests, meadows and
recreation sites. Kosutnjak is a ”lungs” of the city”, with many uphill and downhill’s,
lot of tracks and jogging trails, sports playgrounds, restaurants nested in the
forests. People who needs peace and serenity goes to Kosutnjak.

Kosutnjak

If you know other place in Belgrade that deserve to be on this list, place be free to name it in coments